Floor cleanliness and hygiene is a high priority in buildings and locations such as hospitals, where regularly scheduled cleaning is required in order to prevent the build-up of bacteria and other harmful matter and organisms. Floor cleaning will generally be carried out using a manually-operated scrubber dryer or a similar device, to a pre-set schedule. For example, certain rooms, corridors and similar areas with high footfall and throughput could be scheduled for cleaning daily or twice-daily, with an operator checking the schedule, moving to the area scheduled for cleaning, and manually moving/directing a scrubber dryer over the floor within the area in order to clean it. Other areas could be scheduled for weekly cleaning, or be subject to a regular but less-frequent cleaning cycle.
Due to the manual nature of the cleaning operation where a user-operated machine such as a scrubber dryer is used, mistakes and omissions can occur. If a scrubber dryer is moved manually within or through a set or known location such as a room or corridor, the operator can easily overlook certain areas of the floor as they move through the location, or can fail to clean areas within the location as thoroughly as is required, failing to pass over or dwell on certain areas for the length of time required for thorough cleaning to take place. This problem may be exacerbated if certain areas are harder to access due to hospital equipment or other similar items being located within an area on a temporary or more long-term basis. An operator has to work around these items during a cleaning operation, and will potentially missing areas that require cleaning, that are blocked or shielded by the presence of this equipment.
Automatic cleaners are also known, which move under their own power, and which are programmed to carry out automated cleaning routines within a location.
Cleaners of this type are usually programmed with a generalised set of instructions, such as moving outwards in a spiral from a non-specific starting point, or commencing a cleaning operation by moving from a non-specific starting point and following a set pattern until encountering an obstacle such as a wall, followed by a semi-set or generalised pattern intended to cover enough of the floor area to reach a reasonable standard. Due to the generalised nature of the instruction set, and the lack of pattern recordal, it can be difficult to assess whether cleaning has taken place to a required standard across the entirety of the location, and it can be difficult to know if further cleaning is required, and when to schedule this.
In this specification where reference has been made to patent specifications, other external documents, or other sources of information, this is generally for the purpose of providing a context for discussing the features of the invention. Unless specifically stated otherwise, reference to such external documents is not to be construed as an admission that such documents, or such sources of information, in any jurisdiction, are prior art, or form part of the common general knowledge in the art.